What Just Happened
by Auntieoaty
Summary: The things that can happen when you aren't exoecting them.
1. What Just Happened

**What Just Happened?**

Everyone else had left for the day; Vic was on the phone when the others left. Walt had gone in his office but left the door open, he was not trying to eavesdrop, he just wanted to feel close to her and let Vic know that he was there for her. The stress in her voice and the tension in her muscles told him whatever was going on was not good.

After a considerable period of time and several phone calls Vic slammed the phone down, stood up and began to pace, on her fourth or fifth turn around the outer offices she made a quick left and marched into Walt's office. He immediately stood and started to round his desk as she crossed the threshold. The look in her eyes told him something was terribly wrong. Without hesitation he walked straight to her wrapping an arm around her and pushing his office door closed with the other before folding that one around her as well.

As he held her, she clutched his shirt at his upper back, burying her face in his chest. Walt could feel her trying hard to tamp down her anger. After a couple of minutes he risked asking, "Talk to me?" She made no attempt to say anything; he felt her chest move with repeated deep breaths. He stroked her back and allowed her some more time to collect herself. As he held her she relaxed her hold on the fabric of his shirt and slid her hands down to rest at his lower back. He tried again, "What's wrong, Vic?"

She turned her head to the side so he could hear her better and tried hard not to cry, "I'm losing my house Walt I've tried everything I can think of and there's just no way for me to keep it. Between the divorce and several credit card bills that had to be paid off, even though they were mostly Sean's, I just can't do it. I only have 45 days and I have to be out. There's nothing left to do."

Walt held her, thinking he shouldn't because she was his deputy. His mind held strong to that assertion and waged a battled with his senses. She was his deputy – but he could hear the pain in his friend's voice. He was her boss – but he felt the desperate need for comfort as she clung to him. Vic worked in his office – but he saw the hurt in her eyes. His head titled and he leaned his face against her hair. They were colleagues – but he could smell the sweet spicy combination of shampoo, perfume, and Vic; mingled in an all too alluring scent. Walt straightened and reached to lift her face with his index finger placed under her chin. Vic trusted him as her boss to look out for her – but he tasted her lips. That's all, he tasted her lips, and the battle was over.

A compulsion to immerse her senses in his comfort and support overtook him. Walt drew his arms firmly around Vic and cradled her body to his as he sought to relieve her pain; comfort her in any and all ways that he could.

Walt and Vic had gone from a comforting hug to a deep passionate kiss, neither quite sure just how that had happened. Walt broke the kiss and held his lips mere millimeters from hers; his voice deep and ragged, "We shouldn't be doing this."

Vic couldn't say anything, she had always thought kissing him would be something special, but she hadn't expected kissing him to be of earth shattering proportions. She was mesmerized by the experience and nearly consumed with a desire for more; even though she wasn't sure she could handle much more at the moment.

In response to his statement Vic started to move from his embrace. Walt's arms drew her back and held her firmly to him while his mouth made another detailed and thorough exploration of her mouth. Vic pressed against him, holding his head to hers confidently as she matched his explorations with her own highly focused efforts.

Knowing he had already expressed his concern once, Vic put her all into kissing Walt and absorbing every sensation she could from the intimacy; fearing it might be her only chance.  
>They were both panting and gasping for sufficient air when they parted. Vic realized she had never had any man kiss her in such a way that she could not manage to inhale through her nose to maintain the kiss. Walt had literally taken her breath away. That could not be the only chance she would ever have to kiss him, it just couldn't be; she would see that it wasn't.<p>

Walt turned her back toward the couch and pushed gently, she allowed herself to fall into the cushions and was pleased when he dropped down next to her and had not retreated behind his desk or further away. They were quiet a long time, neither one touching the other but sitting close enough to feel the heat rolling off the other's body. Vic had no clue what to say or how to address the situation, and since Walt had stopped them both times she left the ball in his court; even though it was likely be a long wait. Continuing to sit in silence they slowly returned their breathing to a normal pace.

After several minutes Walt turned his head to face her, his expression one of bewilderment and awe, "What was that?"

Vic returned his look with a similar expression and snorted a short chuckle, "I'm not exactly sure. Would you classify that as kissing?"

"Nope. Too simple a word."

"That's what I thought."

They were silent and looked away from each other, as the silence grew slightly uncomfortable; one thought thrummed in Vic's mind. After several minutes of the mental torture, she voiced it without looking at him, "What just happened?"

Walt surprised her when he answered without hesitating, "I think _everything_ just changed."

"Yeah."

"You okay?"

"Yep. You mad?"

"No! Are you?!"

She turned to look at him and smiled warmly, "No, no, not mad."

Walt gave her some time before prompting, "What?"

"Confused? A little worried. Kind of excited. And…"

"And?" he coaxed.

"And I wouldn't mind doing that again." She confessed but turned her eyes from him and her voice trailed off as her nerve faded and a deep blush infused her cheeks.

He reached over and held her hand, "Me too."

Vic turned to him in surprise, "Yeah?"

He lifted his other hand to her face and stroked the backs of his knuckles gently along her cheek, "Yeah." Walt leaned over and brushed his lips to hers lightly and briefly and then leaned back, "We've got a lot to talk about."

"Yep."

"Okay Coop'" he chuckled at her and she leaned over to bump his shoulder with hers.

"Hey, I learned that from you."

He gave her a proud smile, "Yep."

She laughed at him, "Only _you_ could be proud of getting someone to talk _less_."

He joined her laughter, "Maybe."

She batted her eyelashes at him and gave him a silly grin, "Ooo, a great big two syllable word."

He just smiled and kept his syllables to himself as he stroked her fingers with his thumb.

She squeezed his hand, "When and where do you wanna talk about this?"

"Now and here?"

"Okay but why here?"

"Because I think it'll help prevent us from doing more than talking."

She smiled knowingly, "Good idea."

"I have one of those once in a while." He said as if it were a new revelation to him.

"I know. That kissing, whatever it was, a while ago was definitely a good idea"

He smiled broadly at her, "Yeah?'

"Ohh yeeaahh," Vic held his eyes so he would know she was absolutely serious despite the joking tone. "I just need to know one thing before we talk about this any further."

"What's that?"

"Before when you said we shouldn't be doing this, did you mean we shouldn't be _doing_ what we were doing or we shouldn't be doing it _where _we were doing it?"

"Where," Walt let out a heavy sigh, "definitely where."

"Okay good." Relief permeated her words.

"Vic if I promise to keep my hands to myself would you let me kiss you again?"

"I'd let you kiss me even if you _didn't_ keep your hands to yourself."

Walt leaned in and Vic met his lips with hers. It was a soft gentle kiss but began to deepen quickly. When it did she moaned and placed her hands on either side of his face. He kissed her just a couple of seconds longer and then reached up and pulled her hands away from his face as he leaned back, "We are _still_ here," holding firmly to her hands as he gave her a stern look that morphed into a slight grin.

"Whhaat? I didn't promise." She said in mock defense.

"Well I'll make you promise before I kiss you again."

"Well, if you're gonna kiss me again then I'd promise."

"Oh we _will_ kiss again."

"In that case, I promise."

They exchanged smiles at the thought of sharing future kisses and fell into a comfortable silence.

A few minutes later Walt almost blurted the thought he was compelled to share, "Vic, I'm not a man who can handle a casual affair."

She sensed by the way he had said it that he was trying to keep his nerve up. Turning to him she smiled warmly and agreed gently, "No you're not. You're the man whose wife passed away and who thought calling another woman was cheating."

He gave Vic slightly sheepish look and said, "Sorry."

She clamped both of her hands over his and looked deeply into his eyes, "Don't _ever_ apologize for being you. And don't ever be sorry for _that_. That was one of the most romantic things I've ever heard any man say. Actually, I kinda envied Martha at that moment because she had been loved by a man who felt that way."

Walt blushed but continued to allow her to hold his gaze and whispered a faint, "Thank you."

She smiled at him again and let his words sit for a moment before prompting, "Now what were you saying... You're not a man who can handle a casual affair, _and_…"


	2. Sorting Things Out

**Sorting Things Out**

"Right." He sighed and grappled with his courage, "And last year, before your divorce when I thought you were going to leave, I realized I couldn't bear to lose you. I couldn't stand the thought," He looked at her and leaned in slightly to emphasize his next words, "I don't think I would survive losing you. I need you Vic." He saw her eyes shift expression slightly as though that statement brought a realization to her. Walt tilted his forehead, gently leaning it against hers, "Can you handle my needing you?"

She nodded her head against his, "Uh huh, I feel the same way. Kinda scares me how much I need you."

"But that's not enough, Vic." When she leaned back and looked at him slightly confused he clarified, "Us not wanting to lose each other; needing each other. It's not enough. If we start something, I mean we've started something, but if we take this any further… We live in a small town and there _will_ be consequences; repercussions we both need to be aware of and be ready to face."

"I understand Walt. But I really think there will be more fallout for you than for me."

"There's going to be fallout for both of us. The question is can we handle it?"

"The way I see it, if we're with each other, then yeah, we can handle it."

"We have to be realistic here we can't go into this in any kind of a romantic daze or with our heads in the clouds."

"No, I get it. Really, I do."

"Well that's the part we need to discuss." he gave her a shrug and a kind of half grin as a blush crept up his cheeks again, "Because if a little while ago is any indication, I think we're on the same page otherwise."

"Oh yeah I think that's a pretty accurate assessment." She slid her hands from the top of his, rose up slightly and slipped both of her hands underneath her thighs and sat back down.

He looked at her with amusement dancing in his eyes, "What are you doing?"

She very somberly stated, "Keeping my hands to myself, as promised." and then she leaned in toward him.

Walt met her halfway and returned the kiss; each keeping their hands to themselves. The kisses were much more restrained and could actually be classified as kisses whereas what they had experienced earlier was well beyond classification as simply a kiss.

When they broke the kiss Vic asked softly, "What specifically are you concerned with that you want to talk about?"

"I'd like to say I don't want people talking about you but I know full well if we get together there will be talk; about you, about me, about us. It'll happen but what I'm worried about is the possibility of there being unfair judgment cast on you."

"Us Walt or you. Like favoritism on the job; that kind of thing. I have the same types of concerns. We'll come back to that. What else?"

"I wonder if the age difference will become a problem for us. I fear you may grow tired of me or outgrow me and I don't think I could handle that."

Vic took one of his hands in hers, she held it firmly in one of hers and traced the various lines with the index finger of her other hand, "I honestly don't think the age difference between us is all that big a deal. I know others with much greater age gaps and they've been together for years. If something does come of it, we'll deal with it. I can't see anything coming from that that could be all that problematic." She looked up at him and saw the dubious expression in his eyes. "What I'm saying is as you get older, I will too, but the age difference will only get smaller. Make sense?"

Walt nodded, "Yeah. I think so. What about you, what concerns you about us being together?"

"I'm a little worried about what Cady'll think, especially since I'm not that much older than her. What if you don't get reelected, because of me? And I worry that my track record with men might screw us up as a couple."

Walt held her gaze and her hands, "I think Cady already thinks there's something going on. She said the other day she was happy for me, as long as I was happy. If I lose my job because we're together I'd gladly except that if it means I stay with you. Losing you is my greatest fear and maintaining a relationship with you and keeping you with me is my greatest priority."

Vic laced their fingers together with one hand, "I understand and feel exactly the same way. I would work any other job that was out there if it meant we stayed together. I'd wait tables or take a job as a custodian, dog walker, night security guard, or babysitter. I'd even clerk at the Come n Go on the overnight shift."

This last part made Walt laugh out loud and he smiled mischievously at her, "I don't think even _I _could go that far."

She punched his shoulder lightly, "Your choice cowboy you don't take the job on that overnight shift you might lose me."

Walt wrapped his arms around her and said through his smile, "Sign me up I'll take it!" and then claimed her mouth as he drew his hands along her back; one settling on the upper curve of her rear and the other making its way into her hair; gradually pulling her ponytail loose.

When he released her mouth, she leaned back a little and he settled for burying his face in the hair he had freed.

Vic asked hesitantly, "What about my track record? My relationship history's pretty shitty."

Walt shifted his hold on her, the hand at her waist tighten in a possessive hold. He brought his other hand to her face, to caress her cheek; he stroked her cheekbone tenderly with his thumb. Walt sought her eyes and held her gaze. "I figure our history together trumps that. Seems to me our relationship has been honest from the beginning and has been honed into a very strong bond over the past few years." He brushed his lips to hers, seeking her response to his statement not necessarily through words. The answer was firm and clear, Vic claimed his mouth, her fingers threading into his hair holding his face to hers possessively. She moaned in total pleasure when he responded in kind.

So much for keeping their hands to themselves, Walt thought, as he held Vic close and let his hands roam freely on her body. He let one hand drift to the denim covering her butt, slowly sliding it lower until he was cupping one rounded pocket; drawing her even closer to him. When Vic moaned against his mouth again he had to touch her skin. Carefully tugging at the back of her shirt he managed to untuck the back of her duty shirt and a small amount of her ribbed tank top. Walt gradually worked his fingers through the opening he had made. His hand soon followed his fingers and he gently stroked the warm tender skin his fingers found. Vic shifted her weight, pushing into him slightly with her chest as she arched her side into his callous fingers. Her hands had been doing their own exploring; Vic popped the top few snaps of his shirt open, when she felt him tugging at her shirt. Walt deepened their kiss as his hand skimmed her skin and he felt Vic's fingers press into the hair on his chest. As their kissing escalated Walt's mind began to caution him against the risk of their losing control.

Vic reluctantly pulled her lips from his and pressed them to his chest next to her hand. She pressed a kiss to the hair roughened skin. Walt kept his hand under the hem of her shirt but brought the other up from her jeans. He fanned his fingers into her hair and lifted her face from his chest.

Looking down at her and working on steadying his breathing, he asked, "Should we move this elsewhere or call it a night altogether?"

A fait hint of bashfulness crossed her features as she looked back at him. The blush on her cheeks and the swelling around her lips was almost more than Walt could resist while waiting for her answer.

Vic drew in a steadying breath and said, "I don't mean to answer a question with a question, but …" She trailed off and dropped her gaze from him.

Walt eased his fingers from her hair and tilted her chin up, so their eyes met again, "What Vic? What're ya thinkin'?"

She gave him a tiny smirk, "This make-out session is not something I'm ready to end, but I don't think we're ready to take things much further just yet. I was wondering if maybe we could just spend the night together, uhm, well, I, uh…"

Walt let her off the hook when he noticed the color deepening on her cheeks, "Just sleeping?"

Relief flooded her features and brightened her eyes, "Yeah."

He slipped his hand from under her shirt, placing it on the other side of her head, framing her face, before he leaned in and placed a soft kiss against her swollen lips. His thumbs gently caressed her cheekbones as he lifted his head and said, "Yeah."

Vic graced him with a brilliant smile. With a little twinkle in her eye and chuckle in her voice she asked, "Your place or mine?"

He shrugged.

She watched the expression play across his eyes and said, "Right, your cabin it is."

Walt started to protest, "I didn't…"

Vic brought a finger to his lips and gently stopped his words, "No, you didn't say anything. But your eyes showed you were wondering something and my guess is, 'Do I still have the same bed I shared with Sean'." She dropped her finger and gave him a 'well?' look.

Walt nodded, "Close enough."

She reached out and started snapping shut the snaps she had unsnapped a while before. Holding his gaze as she snapped his shirt by braille, Vic asked, "Are you okay sharing you bed with me?"

"Yep."

"No ghosts?"

"Nope."

"Think you can sleep with someone else in there with you?"

"If it's you."

She smiled at him and stared.

"No more questions?"

Vic giggled at his expectant yet hesitant expression, "Just one?"

He held his features in a neutral expression and asked patiently, "What?"

Vic grinned wolfishly at him, "You want the left or the right side?"

Walt wrapped his arms around her firmly and asked, "How about we both take the middle?"

Vic nodded and turned her face to his and kissed him sweetly, "Let's go home cowboy."


End file.
